We thought about the brief through the lens of today’s culture and were inspired by current trends in wearable technology. What if we created a fictional device designed to alleviate the need for people to think about funeral planning? If there were a device that could take that unnecessary obsessing away, funeral planning would become simple, not overwhelming.

We created an online video to introduce “Quitbit” – a watch that uses a sophisticated algorithm to measure how long you have left to live. The video was intended as a misdirect and was filmed so that the viewer might believe the product actually existed in real life. This shareable content was supported by banners, a microsite and wild postings.

The Quitbit campaign launched in August 2015 and pulsed in and out of the market for several months.

Our media mix was carefully considered to target a younger, more tech-savvy audience. Native advertising on popular sites such as Reddit drove volumes of traffic to a microsite that promoted it as a legitimate product, complete with a BUY NOW button. We also used programmatic buying to locate, and serve digital ads to, our target in places where they are planning / researching related topics such as financial planning.

The digital media plan was also supported with local wild postings as well as print in local publications throughout the Greater Toronto Area.

After viewing the video, the user was then taken to the lead generation site where email information could be gathered for future communications and sales follow up.

Quitbit over-achieved on all objectives, and broadened MPG’s sales funnel in a way that they had not been able to achieve previously. Overall results have far exceeded past campaigns for MPG:

• Broadened MPG’s audience to include a whole new group of consumers who are talking about pre-planning

• Total leads generated were the highest in the company’s history, greater than the combined total of the last 6 years of marketing

• Site visits have increased by +200%.

• 215MM PR impressions

• Lead generation targeted reached within first 2 months of campaign.

• Cost per lead halved compared with 2014.

Most importantly, our work has triggered a cultural conversation around an often-avoided topic with a brand new group of consumers.

The QuitBit campaign is all about lead generation. It leads viewers to a survey to qualify themselves as leads and captures contact information for follow-up sales calls.

The major obstacle faced when dealing with funeral pre-planning is that it is ignored in favour of other, more pleasant, life planning activities. Because this particular subject matter is delicate, about a discussion most people shy away from, we wanted to present the topic in a direct and thought-provoking way.

We purposefully sought out a target previously untapped by our client by lowering our age target from 55+ to 35+ adults in Toronto. We wanted to get them thinking about their own funeral plans, or assisting their parents’ with their pre-planning.

We knew that we needed to connect with this younger audience in the place where they spend most of their time – online. And we knew that we needed a disruptive idea that would cut through the clutter of ever-popular cat and giggling baby videos online.

Funeral planning is typically considered a very static and uninspired category for marketing. For years, Mount Pleasant Group, a historic cemetery and funeral services company in the Greater Toronto Area had used traditional direct mail and local newspaper advertising to reach consumers. Consumer interest in the brand had softened and it was evident that the brand needed to be reinvigorated.

We saw an opportunity to challenge the status quo by broadening our message to engage a younger audience and get them thinking about their own funeral plans, or assist their parents’ with their pre-planning. Our goal for this campaign was to create awareness of Mount Pleasant Group and its properties / services by challenging people to think about end of life planning by reframing the topic in a contemporary context.